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Natasha Mendes
Natasha Mendes (ナターシャ·メンデス, Natāsha Mendesu), also referred to as Tasha-chan by those close to her, was a close friend of Shana Shidou and an unfortunate acquaintance of Manaka Tomoko. In the professional Gunpla Circuit, Natasha was regularly referred to as the Blazing Star Punisher. Although Natasha primarily participated in local Gunpla Matches, she did take part in the 10th Gunpla International Tournament, finishing at 16th Place. She has also participated in the 3rd Gunpla Grand Prix, having been part of a team consisting of employees of the Flynn Gundam Hobby Store and the mentors of each team from Wasaobi High School that participated in the tournament. In the world at large, Natasha was a commuting College Student studying Business Economics at Tokyo University. In order to supplement her income, Natasha worked part-time at a Maid Cafe in the Shopping District of the multi-level Game Room, a fact she fervently hides from her friends. She also worked at Manaka's convenience store from time to time but it was largely attributed to being tricked into it. Due to being an alumni, Natasha also volunteers as the Manager of each Gunpla Team in Wasaobi High School's Gunpla Committee and as the main coordinator of the local Gunpla Festival. She was one of the supporting characters featured in Model Suit Gundam Build Fighters SWF, being one of the regulars of The Game Room and is also prominently featured in Gundam Build Fighters - Regulation E, where she is a recurring character that often acted as a pillar of support and a fountain of advice to the students under her care. Appearance Personality History Early life Skills and Capabilities Notes Trivia *Natasha's epithet, Blazing Star Punisher, is a reference to the trio of Gunpla she employed in Tournaments. The three Gunpla created by Natasha were: :*MBF-23NM Gundam Astray Blazing Gold Frame Amatsu - Blazing :*GF23-NM Nobel Star Gundam - Star :*GNX-23NMCC Brave Punisher (Commander Test Type) - Punisher *Natasha claims to be 1/16 Russian. *The model numbers in Natasha's own Gunpla are a reference to both, her initials and age. Behind the Scenes *Following the naming conventions and themes undertaken by Another Poetic Spartan, Natasha Mendes was named after Famous Individuals and/or Puns. In this case, Natasha Mendes was taken from a word and two individuals: Natasha, Natasha Rostova, and Eva Mendes. :*The name, "Natasha" is of Russian origin, being a diminutive form of Natalia, in which turn was derived from the Latin Dies Natalies, meaning "Natal Day". Natal Day was largely in reference to the traditional birth of Jesus Christ. This is a further reference to Natasha's Birthday, which was on December 25th. :*Subsequently, Natasha could be a reference to Natasha Rostova, a central character in Leo Tolstoy's novel, War and Peace. In the novel, Natasha Rostova was a central female character who was described as "not pretty but full of life" and a romantic young girl, although impulsive and highly strung, that went through many trails to evolve and find happiness. :*Eva Mendes is an American actress, model and singer who gained widespread popularity after appearing in a slew of widely successful movies. Beforehand, Eva Mendes starred in a number of B-movies. :*The surname Mendes is also a reference to Baphomet, namely the "Sabbatical Goat" image drawn by Eliphas Lévi and most specifically, the Goat of Mendes. By extension, the Goat of Mendes referred to the God of Mendes, which was the Greek name for Djedet, Egypt. *Natasha Mendes' Character Image was based on Gou Matsuoka, Rin Matsuoka's younger sister and the Manager of Iwatobi High School's Swim Club in the 2013 anime television series, Free!. *Natasha Mendes is the first official collaboration work between Another Poetic Spartan and DarkGhostMikel as well as the first character crossover between Model Suit Gundam Build Fighters SWF and Gundam Build Fighters - Regulation E.